downtown off-street parking study - seattle.gov home€¦ · · 2017-08-01downtown off-street...

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TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM Project: Downtown Off-Street Parking Study

Subject: Supply and Occupancy Survey in June 2016

Date: April 26, 2017

Author: Marni C. Heffron, P.E., P.T.O.E. Julie A. Bussing

This memorandum summarizes the methodology and findings of the Downtown Off-Street Parking Study performed for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) in June 2016. This survey of off-street facilities updates and expands data previously collected by SDOT (2014 Downtown Off-Street Study, 2012 and 2013 off-street parking studies along the Waterfront and in Pioneer Square), and the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) (2010 and 2013 off-street parking studies in the Central Business District, International District, and the Waterfront). These data for the off-street parking facilities together with Seattle’s Annual On-Street Parking Study provide a comprehensive account of parking conditions and trends in downtown Seattle. This memorandum presents the methodology for the off-street parking inventory and data collection, and summarizes parking space type by subarea, rate trends, and parking utilization.

1. Study Area

Figure 1 shows the study area for the 2016 Downtown Off-Street Parking Survey. The boundaries are generally Valley Street to the north, S Royal Brougham Way to the south, Elliott Bay to the west, and Interstate 5 to the east. The study area includes all areas from the 2014 study and extends into the South Lake Union neighborhood north of Denny Way, adding data collection in PSRC Zones 17 and 18. Additional data were collected for several off-street facilities in the Belltown North - Waterfront and Uptown Edge (Northeast) subareas identified on Figure 1. Figure 1 shows both the subareas as defined by SDOT and the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), the latter of which are used by the PSRC when it performs region-wide parking surveys. For this analysis, the subareas were defined as follows:

Core Commercial Areas • Financial • Retail • Waterfront

Outside Core Areas • Uptown Triangle • South Lake Union • Belltown North and South • Denny Triangle North and South • Pioneer Square Core and Edge • Stadium • Chinatown/ID Core and Edge

Additional Facilities • Waterfront North • Uptown Edge

(Northeast)

N

2016 DOWNTOWNO F F - S T R E E TPARKING SURVEY


Figure 1

Parking SubAreas

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5

8

7

13

12

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11

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KEY

SDOT Parking Areas

PSRC Zones 1

1718

Downtown Off-Street Parking Study Supply and Occupancy Survey in June 2016

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This study collected data for 230 garages with a supply of 49,927 publicly available parking spaces. Data collectors were denied entry at several facilities, but the studied supply represents about 95% of all the public parking facilities in the study area and an estimated 93% of the total public off-street parking capacity. Ranging in size from five to 1,500 parking spaces, parking facilities studied included surface lots, small one-story garages, and multi-story garages.

2. Survey Methodology

2.1. Parking Areas

Table 1 provides information about the number of facilities and spaces located in each subarea. The comparable PSRC zones are also identified. Table 1 defines the number of facilities and parking spaces that are available for public parking Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. The number of parking spaces fluctuates on the weekend. Some public facilities are closed and some facilities with parking spaces reserved during the workweek are available to the public in the evenings and on the weekends. During the survey, sections of two surface lots—with a total of 50 parking spaces—were occupied by construction activity. For those facilities, only the supply available on the day of the occupancy counts was included. At two facilities, access was denied but occupancy data were provided by the attendant. Evening and weekend data collection were performed for a sample of key facilities in each subarea. The off-street sample sites were selected to represent a mix of small and large facilities as well as surface parking lots and garages. These locations are shown in Figure 2. Specific information about each facility is included in the Appendix.

2.2. Changes from 2014

The 2014 study focused on surveying all publicly-available facilities in the Commercial Core and a sample of facilities outside the Commercial Core. The 2016 study performed weekday surveys at all publicly-available off-street facilities in the entire study area, and evening and weekend surveys at a sample of facilities in all areas. A comparison of results for facilities covered by both the 2014 and 2016 surveys are provided in Section 4.

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Figure 2Locations of Off-Street Facilities

For Weekend Data Collection

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3

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5

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7

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1718

KEY

SDOT Parking Areas

PSRC Zones 1

Off-Street Facilities

DRAFT Downtown Off-Street Parking Study Supply and Occupancy Survey in June 2016

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Table 1. Downtown Off-Street Parking Areas

Comparable PSRC Zones

Number of Off-Street Parking Facilities Number of Parking Spaces

Core Commercial Areas Available a Inventoried b % Inventoried Available a Inventoried b % Inventoried Financial 4, 5 31 28 91% 8,536 8,165 96% Retail 7, 8 34 34 100% 12,197 12,197 100% Waterfront 6 10 10 100% 2,000 2,000 100% Total Commercial Core 75 72 96% 22,733 22,362 98%

Outside Core Areas Uptown Triangle 18 6 6 100% 629 629 100% South Lake Union c 17,18 33 27 82% 6,867 3,406 50% Belltown North 9,11 23 23 100% 3,832 3,832 100% Belltown South 10, 12 28 28 100% 3,347 3,347 100% Denny Triangle North 12, 13 24 23 96% 4,294 4,264 99% Denny Triangle South 13 7 7 100% 1,710 1,710 100% Pioneer Square Core 3, 4 6 6 100% 1,294 1,294 100% Pioneer Square Edge 1, 3 12 12 100% 2,721 2,721 100% Stadium 1 4 4 100% 2,734 2,734 100%

Chinatown/ID Core d 2 0 0 0% 0 0 0%

Chinatown/ID Edge 2, 3 13 13 100% 813 813 100% Total for Areas Outside Core 156 149 96% 28,241 24,750 88% Additional Facilities Belltown North - Waterfront 9 3 2 67% 359 330 92% Uptown Edge (Northeast) 18 7 7 100% 2,485 2,485 100% Total for Additional Facilities 10 9 90% 2,844 2,815 99%

Total All Areas 241 230 95% 53,818 49,927 93% Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., August 2016. a. ‘Number of Facilities Surveyed’ includes off-street facilities accessible to the public during the workday between 8:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. b. Some garages were secured or access was denied by garage management. c. Six garages in buildings occupied by Amazon could not be accessed due to security. The total supply, 3,461 spaces, at these garages was not field checked. d. There were no public off-street facilities identified by SDOT in the Chinatown/ID Core area; existing facilities in this neighborhood are typically reserved for business-specific customers.


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2.3. Data Collection

Parking occupancy counts were performed over a four-week period between June 1, 2016 and June 24, 2016 during the following times:

• Weekday: Monday through Thursday, mornings between 8:45 A.M. and 12:00 P.M., and afternoons between 12:45 P.M. and 3:30 P.M.

• Weekend Evenings: Friday evening between 6:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. • Weekends: Saturday afternoons between 11:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M.

In addition, the parking supply of each garage was confirmed, and data were collected regarding hours of operation, rates, and parking space attributes. Detailed data collected for this study are available in exter-nal databases and spreadsheets.

3. Survey Results

The parking survey data were compiled to show various metrics for each of the sixteen subareas. The following tables summarize the results and show:

Table 2. Off-Street Parking Occupancy Survey Results, Weekday Data – This table summarizes parking utilization for each subarea during the weekday periods. Parking utilization is defined as the number of parked vehicles divided by the number of available parking spaces. Table 3. Off-Street Parking Occupancy Survey Results, Weekend Data – This table summarizes parking utilization for the evening and weekend periods. The locations of the 12 facilities included in the sample are shown on Figure 2. Some off-street facilities are closed dur-ing the evenings and weekends; thus, the number of available parking spaces fluctuates between survey time periods. Table 4. Average Rates for Off-Street Parking – This table summarizes the average posted parking rates for each subarea for various lengths of stays. Posted rates do not apply to customers who may have a monthly parking pass. Table 5. Parking by Type of Space – This table summarizes the various types of spaces that were designated in the surveyed garages. Table 6. Utilization by Type of Space – This table summarizes parking utilization by type of space.


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Table 2. Off-Street Parking Occupancy Survey Results – Weekday Data

Number of Facilities

Surveyed a

Number of Available Spaces b

Weekdays Morning Afternoon Core Commercial Areas

% Utilized

Unused Spaces c

% Utilized

Unused Spaces c

Financial 28 8,165 77% 1,854 74% 2,261

Retail 34 12,197 e 64% 4,358 69% 3,796

Waterfront 10 2,000 68% 643 69% 627

Total Commercial Core 72 22,362 69% 6,855 71% 6,684

Areas outside Core

South Lake Union 27 3,406 55% 1,545 62% 1,280

Uptown Triangle 6 629 61% 243 70% 190

Belltown North 23 3,832 68% 1,230 69% 1,197

Belltown South 28 3,347 68% 1,078 75% 842

Denny Triangle North 23 4,264 e 67% 1,428 68% 1,356

Denny Triangle South 7 1,710 74% 445 74% 449

Pioneer Square Core 6 1,294 83% 221 84% 204

Pioneer Square Edge 12 2,721 70% 816 73% 742

Stadium 4 2,734 41% 1,611 47% 1,462

Chinatown/ID Core d 0 -- -- -- -- --

Chinatown/ID Edge 13 813 62% 313 64% 293

Total for Subareas Outside Core 149 24,827 64% 8,930 68% 8,015

Additional Facilities

Belltown North - Waterfront 2 330 69% 102 70% 100

Uptown Edge (Northeast) 7 2,485 35% 1,610 39% 1,517

Total for Additional Facilities 9 2,815 39% 1,712 43% 1,617

Total All Areas 230 49,927 65% 17,497 67% 16,316 Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. ‘Number of Facilities Surveyed’ includes off-street facilities accessible to the public during the workday between 8:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. b. ‘Available Spaces’ indicate total supply for the surveyed facilities. c. Unused spaces represent the number of spaces where vehicles are not parked. d. There were no public off-street facilities identified by SDOT in the Chinatown/ID Core area. e. The available spaces in these facilities reflect the actual supply observed in the field. Some surface lot spaces were blocked by construction.


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Table 3. Off-Street Parking Occupancy Survey Results – Weekend Data

Weekend Evenings Saturday Midday

Number of Number of Number of Number of Core Commercial Facilities

Surveyed a Available Spaces a

% Utilized

Unused Spaces b

Facilities Surveyed

Available spaces a

% Utilized

Unused Spaces b

Commercial Financial 4 814 26% 600 4 814 29% 580 Retail 6 4,103 42% 2,393 6 4,103 42% 2,397 Waterfront 3 773 41% 459 2 c 652 67% 218 TOTAL 12 5,690 39% 3,452 12 5,569 43% 3,195

Areas outside Core South Lake Union 6 1,517 17% 1,252 6 1,517 16% 1,267 Uptown Triangle 2 518 38% 323 2 518 42% 300 Belltown North 3 2,159 29% 1,538 3 2,159 32% 1,478 Belltown South 3 539 30% 375 3 539 50% 268 Denny Triangle North 4 943 17% 785 4 943 25% 704 Denny Triangle South 1 597 10% 537 1 597 10% 537 Pioneer Square Core 3 829 29% 590 3 829 31% 573 Pioneer Square Edge 3 1,318 33% 878 3 1,318 30% 924 Stadium 0 -- -- -- 0 -- -- -- Chinatown/ID Core d -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Chinatown/ID Edge 4 520 51% 253 4 520 63% 190 TOTAL 30 8,940 27% 6,531 30 8,940 30% 6,241 Additional Facilities Belltown North - Waterfront 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Uptown Edge (Northeast) 1 841 27% 610 1 841 35% 548 TOTAL 1 841 27% 610 1 841 35% 548

Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. Weekend and evening surveys were performed for a sample of all parking facilities. Available spaces indicate the total supply for the facilities surveyed. b. Unused spaces represent the number of spaces where vehicles are not parked. c. Attendant would not permit counts on Saturday midday at one of the facilities. d. There were no public off-street facilities identified by SDOT in the Chinatown/ID Core area


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Table 4. Average Rates for Weekday Off-Street Parking

Average Parking Rate Early Bird Program b

Commercial Core Area Number of Facilities a 2-Hour 4 Hour All Day Overnight

% Offering Early Bird

Average Early-Bird Rate

Financial 29 $15.23 $22.33 $32.75 $26.39 52% $14.21

Retail 33 $12.77 $19.33 $30.60 $32.04 53% $18.26

Waterfront 10 $10.32 $18.53 $29.94 $40.75 60% $13.04

Areas outside Core

Uptown Triangle 6 $8.40 $14.87 $19.38 none 67% $7.14

South Lake Union 24 $7.53 $13.67 $19.89 $15.27 7% $6.74

Belltown North 23 $7.06 $12.76 $19.02 $14.62 48% $9.43

Belltown South 27 $11.27 $16.48 $24.26 $22.56 44% $14.99

Denny North 23 $10.65 $16.73 $26.37 $21.39 52% $14.92

Denny South 7 $11.71 $18.29 $27.73 $27.43 57% $15.25

Pioneer Square Core 6 $12.33 $19.17 $36.00 $10.33 83% $16.30

Pioneer Square Edge 11 $11.64 $19.45 $28.00 $18.75 36% $15.19

Stadium 4 $7.75 $11.25 $16.75 None 75% $11.67

Chinatown/ID Edge 13 $8.10 $12.05 $18.95 $12.06 31% $11.69


Belltown North - Waterfront 2 $9.00 $13.50 $20.50 $24.00 0% --

Uptown Edge (Northeast) 7 $8.86 $12.86 $11.60 $7.00 0% -- Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016 a. Number of Facilities indicates facilities with posted rates. b. Applies to customers who arrive before a set time in the morning and typically park all day.


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Table 5. Parking by Type of Space

All Space Types a EV Stations Disabled Carpool Vanpool Load/Unload Carshare Valet Reserved

Commercial Core Num

ber o

f Fa

ciliti

es

Tota

l Spa

ces

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Spac

es

% o

f Tot

al

Financial 26 7,665 44 0.5% 156 2.0% 26 0.3% 2 0.0% 20 0.3% 9 0.1% 864 11.3% 1,016 13.3%

Retail 34 12,067 45 0.4% 212 1.8% 84 0.7% 13 0.1% 38 0.3% 17 0.1% 461 3.8% 647 5.4%

Waterfront 10 2,000 2 0.1% 33 1.7% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 4 0.2% 10 0.5% 73 3.7% 62 3.1%

Areas Outside Core

Uptown Triangle 6 706 0 0.0% 16 2.5% 2 0.3% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 4 0.6% 28 4.5% 70 11.1%

South Lake Union 27 3,406 15 0.4% 81 2.4% 0 0.0% 58 1.7% 9 0.3% 4 0.1% 0 0.0% 514 15.1%

Belltown North 26 3,832 0 0.0% 79 2.1% 4 0.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 17 0.4% 192 5.0% 156 4.1%

Belltown South 30 3,347 7 0.2% 54 1.6% 2 0.1% 0 0.0% 8 0.2% 19 0.6% 95 2.8% 166 5.0%

Denny North 23 4,264 14 2.0% 87 2.0% 114 2.7% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 9 0.2% 59 1.4% 131 3.1%

Denny South 7 1,710 5 0.3% 42 2.5% 0 0.0% 17 1.0% 4 0.2% 2 0.1% 0 0.0% 363 21.2%

Pioneer Square Core 6 1,294 2 0.1% 25 1.9% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 8 0.6% 234 18.1% 128 9.9%

Pioneer Square Edge 12 2,721 16 0.6% 50 1.8% 20 0.7% 40 1.5% 0 0.0% 6 0.2% 200 7.4% 112 4.1%

Stadium 4 2,734 5 0.2% 46 1.7% 0 0.0% 4 0.1% 6 0.2% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 189 6.9%

Chinatown/ID Edge 13 813 0 0.0% 16 2.0% 10 1.2% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 4 0.5% 0 0.0% 72 8.9%


Belltown North - Waterfront 2 330 0 0.0% 7 2.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 2 0.6% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 27 8.2%

Uptown Edge (Northeast) 7 2,485 3 0.1% 70 2.8% 0 0.0% 5 0.2% 0 0.0% 3 0.1% 0 0.0% 56 2.3% Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. Number of facilities surveyed. Facilities were not included if space type information was not available or data collectors were not permitted to count occupancy.


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Table 6. Utilization by Type of Parking Space

Percent Utilization by Space Type

All Space Types a EV Stations Disabled Carpool Vanpool Load/Unload Carshare Valet Reserved

Commercial Core # of

Facil

ities

Tota

l Sp

aces

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Morn

ing

Afte

rnoo

n

Financial 26 7,665 57% 66% 42% 46% 85% 19% 0% 0% 5% 0% 67% 44% 85% 64% 74% 58%

Retail 34 12,067 33% 36% 35% 45% 35% 61% 100% 100% 45% 39% 59% 64% 61% 25% 47% 43%

Waterfront 10 2,000 0% 0% 21% 39% -- b -- -- -- 0% 0% 90% 70% 41% 0% 21% 18%

Areas Outside Core

Uptown Triangle 6 706 -- -- 0% 0% 100% 100% -- -- -- -- 50% 50% 0% 0% 27% 26%

South Lake Union 27 3,406 67% 67% 11% 17% -- -- 88% 88% 11% 0% 50% 50% -- -- 54% 65%

Belltown North 26 3,832 -- -- 8% 5% 0% 0% -- -- -- -- 6% 6% 0% 0% 36% 33%

Belltown South 30 3,347 29% 0% 26% 11% 100% 100% -- -- 0% 0% 84% 26% 77% 39% 57% 31%

Denny North 23 4,264 29% 79% 20% 13% 60% 61% -- -- -- -- 56% 56% 25% 31% 47% 71%

Denny South 7 1,710 60% 60% 33% 36% -- -- 65% 76% 0% 50% 100% 100% -- -- 91% 91%

Pioneer Square Core 6 1,294 0% 0% 28% 32% -- -- -- -- -- -- 25% 38% 78% 74% 48% 55%

Pioneer Square Edge 12 2,721 63% 75% 28% 32% 0% 0% 0% 0% -- -- 50% 67% 54% 53% 84% 77%

Stadium 4 2,734 80% 40% 15% 28% -- -- 75% 25% 33% 17% -- -- -- -- 78% 72%

Chinatown/ID Edge 13 813 -- -- 50% 50% 0% 0% -- -- -- -- 75% 100% -- -- 65% 71%


Belltown North - Waterfront 2 330 100% 67% 43% 43% -- -- 100% 100% -- -- 67% 100% -- -- 32% 50%

Uptown Edge (Northeast) 7 2,485 -- -- 43% 43% -- -- -- -- 100% 0% -- -- -- -- 78% 63%

Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. Number of facilities surveyed. Facilities were not included if space type information was not available or data collectors were not permitted to count occupancy. b. ‘—‘ indicates that there was no available supply of that particular space type.


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4. Comparison of 2014 and 2016 Survey Results

As mentioned previously, the 2016 Off-Street Parking Survey was an updated and expanded version of the 2014 Off-Street Survey. To assess changes in supply and occupancy between the two study years, a comparison of facilities that were surveyed in both years was performed. In total, 98 facilities with over 30,000 parking spaces were surveyed in both the 2014 and 2016 studies. Table 7, Figure 3, and Figure 4 shown below summarize the following information:

Table 7. Comparison of Off-Street Parking Supply and Occupancy – This table compares parking supply and occupancy for facilities that were surveyed in both 2014 and 2016. Overall, the parking supply in the 98 facilities decreased by about 0.1% between the two years. The occupancy decreased by 3.6% during the morning period and by 5.5% during the afternoon. The decreased occupancy inside the Commercial Core area was slightly less than outside of the Commercial Core area. Table 8. Supply Reduction Between 2014 and 2016 – This table summarizes facilities that were counted in 2014 but no longer existed in 2016. These facilities may currently be under construction or replaced by new construction in the future that includes garage parking. Between 2014 and 2016 eleven (11) facilities with a total of 756 spaces were removed. The majority of the spaces removed were located in the Commercial Core subareas. Figure 3. Commercial Core Utilization: 2014 and 2016 Comparison – This chart compares the utilization of off-street parking spaces in the Commercial Core for facilities that were surveyed in both 2014 and 2016. A shown, except for morning utilization in the Financial Subarea, there has been an overall decrease in utilization in all subareas of the Commercial Core. As previously noted, the parking supply changed very little; therefore, it is reasonable to compare the utilization rates by subarea. Figure 4. Outside the Commercial Core Utilization: 2014 and 2016 Comparison – This chart compares the utilization of off-street parking spaces outside the Commercial Core for facilities that were surveyed in both 2014 and 2016. In 2014, South Lake Union, Uptown Triangle, Belltown North - Waterfront, Uptown Edge (Northeast), and Stadium were not included in the survey. These subareas are not included in Figure 4.


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Table 7. Comparison of 2014 and 2016 Off-Street Parking Supply and Occupancy

Parking Supply Morning Occupancy Afternoon Occupancy Core Commercial Areas

Number of Facilities a 2014 2016 2014 2016 2014 2016

Financial 21 6,603 6,612 5,041 5,333 5,150 4,978

Retail 30 11,656 11,615 8,219 7,473 8,518 8,038

Waterfront 10 2,000 2,000 1,383 1,357 1,517 1,373

Total Commercial Core 61 20,259 20,227 14,643 14,163 15,185 14,389

% Change -0.2% -3.2% -5.2%

Areas Outside Core

Belltown North 6 2,653 2,619 1,616 1,807 1,664 1,788

Belltown South 10 2,062 2,111 1,627 1,364 1,633 1,526

Denny Triangle North 8 2,103 2,103 1,357 1,097 1,567 1,321

Denny Triangle South 2 677 677 574 454 570 432

Pioneer Square Core 3 803 783 439 656 592 684

Pioneer Square Edge 5 1,357 1,357 997 900 1,096 967

Chinatown/ID Core d 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Chinatown/ID Edge 3 472 472 219 264 313 275

Total Outside Core 37 10,127 10,122 6,829 6,542 7,435 6,993

% Change -0.05% -4.2% -5.9%

Total All Areas 98 30,386 30,349 21,472 20,705 22,620 21,382

% Change -0.1% -3.6% -5.5% Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. ‘Number of Facilities Surveyed’ includes off-street facilities accessible to the public during the workday between 8:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.


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Table 8. Supply Reduction between 2014 and 2016 Parking Surveys

Core Commercial Areas Number of Facilities

Eliminated Number of Spaces

Eliminated

Financial 1 70

Retail 2 162

Waterfront 2 150

Total Commercial Core 5 382

Areas Outside Core

Belltown North None Identified --

Belltown South 1 77

Denny Triangle North 1 121

Denny Triangle South None Identified --

Pioneer Square Core 1 130

Pioneer Square Edge 2 22

Chinatown/ID Core d -- --

Chinatown/ID Edge 1 24

Total Outside Core 6 374

Total All Areas 11 756 Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. Note: Facilities that were not surveyed in 2014 but were identified as not existing in 2016 are not included.


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Figure 3. Commercial Core Utilization: 2014 and 2016 Comparison

Source: Data collected by Heffron Transportation, Inc. in June 2014 and June 2016.

Figure 4. Outside Commercial Core Utilization: 2014 and 2016 Comparison

Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016.


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Facilities surveyed in both 2014 and 2016 showed a decrease in parking occupancy over the two-year period. Overall, parking occupancy during the afternoon period decreased by about 5%. Outside of the Commercial Core area, two subareas experienced increased occupancy: Belltown North (+7.5%) and Pioneer Square Core Subarea (+15.5%). The parking supply in these two subareas also decreased slightly between 2014 and 2016, which likely factors into the increased utilization rates shown in Figure 4. The highest increase in occupancy occurred in Pioneer Square during the morning period, which is likely related to increased daytime employment in or near the neighborhood. Morning occupancy in that neighborhood is now similar to afternoon occupancy.

5. Off-Street Facilities with CTR and TMP Requirements

As part of the 2016 Downtown Off-Street Study, additional data related to carpool and vanpool parking supply and occupancy were collected for buildings that have Transportation Management Plans (TMP) and/or are occupied by Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) affected employers. TMPs are imposed by the City of Seattle as part of the building permitting and environmental review process under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and CTR is a state requirement that applies to businesses with more than 100 employees. The goal of both is to reduce single-occupant vehicle commute trips. One tool often used to reduce trips is to encourage use of carpooling and vanpooling, and providing reserved spaces for carpool and vanpool vehicles. A TMP, which is applied as part of the permit to construct the building, can have requirements for a specific number of designated carpool or vanpool spaces. Facilities occupied by a CTR-affected employer may provide carpool spaces even if it was not a specific permit requirement. Of the 57 facilities in the study area that are subject to a TMP or are occupied by CTR-affected employers, only 11 are identified as required to designate carpool and vanpool spaces by their TMPs. Of those, eight provide no carpool or vanpool parking on site. Thirteen of the surveyed facilities provide some designated carpool or vanpool parking, meaning ten of the facilities provide carpool parking even though it is not required. Facilities that are subject to a TMP or CTR plan were identified by SDOT.1 The number of carpool and vanpool spaces at each of those facilities was collected along with utilization of those spaces. Since some of these spaces may convert to regular spaces after 10:30 A.M., occupancy was observed during the morning between 9:00 A.M. and 10:30 A.M. The morning occupancy at off-street facilities in the study area that have either CTR or TMP plans are summarized in Table 9. As shown, two subareas, Waterfront and Chinatown/ID Edge, have no TMP or CTR-affected facilities. Of the total 250 carpool parking spaces in the study area, 48% were utilized. Of the 121 vanpool parking spaces, 60% were utilized. Table 10 summarizes the utilization of carpool and vanpool spaces based on the type of plan (i.e., TMP or CTR.) The highest utilization of carpool spaces, 61%, occurred in the afternoon at facilities with TMPs. The highest utilization of vanpool spaces, 94%, occurred in the morning at facilities with TMPs. The lowest carpool and vanpool utilization rates were in facilities with both TMP and CTR plans.

1 Database that matched CTR/TMP requirements and off-site parking by address, SDOT, October 2016.


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Table 9. Off-Street Parking Occupancy for Carpool and Vanpool Spaces – Morning Peak Period

Number of facilities with CTR or TMP a

# with TMP requirement for carpool

spaces b

Carpool Vanpool

Core Commercial Areas

Reserved Spaces c

% Utilized d

Reserved Spaces c

% Utilized d

Financial 13 2 26 85% 2 0.0%

Retail 17 5 84 35% 13 100%

Waterfront 0 0 -- -- -- --

Total Commercial Core 30 7 110 46% 15 87%

Areas outside Core

South Lake Union 6 0 0 -- 49 90%

Uptown Triangle 1 0 2 100% 0 --

Belltown North 4 1 4 0% 0 --

Belltown South 1 0 0 -- 0 --

Denny Triangle North 8 2 114 60% 0 --

Denny Triangle South 4 0 0 -- 17 65%

Pioneer Square Core 1 0 0 -- 0 --

Pioneer Square Edge 2 0 20 -- 40 0%

Chinatown/ID Core d 0 0 -- -- -- --

Chinatown/ID Edge 0 0 -- -- -- --

Total for Subareas Outside Core 27 4 140 50% 106 57%


Belltown North - Waterfront 0 0 -- -- -- --

Uptown Edge (Northeast) 0 0 -- -- -- --

Total for Additional Facilities 0 0 -- -- -- --

Total All Areas 57 11 250 48% 121 60% Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. Facilities with a TMP or CTR-affected businesses were identified by SDOT. b. Based on TMP program reports as compiled in the SDOT Database of Individual TMP Element Requirements, updated June 2016. c. ‘‘Reserved Spaces’ indicate those that were reserved for a carpool or vanpool prior to 10:30 A.M. These do not reflect the total number of spaces required by the TMPs. d. Occupancy surveyed between 9:00 and 10:30 A.M. on weekdays.


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Table 10. Utilization of Carpool and Vanpool Spaces by Type of Plan

Number of Facilities a

Number of Spaces Morning Utilization Afternoon Utilization Plan Type Carpool Vanpool Carpool Vanpool Carpool Vanpool

CTR 27 7 49 0% 90% 0% 92%

TMP 16 114 17 60% 94% 61% 76%

CTR and TMP 14 129 55 41% 24% 45% 24% Source: Heffron Transportation, Inc., June 2016. a. Facilities with a TMP or CTR-affected businesses were identified by SDOT. b. ‘Available Spaces’ indicate those that were reserved for a carpool or vanpool prior to 10:30 A.M. There are a few off-street facilities in the study area that have carpool and/or vanpool spaces even though no TMP or CTR plan is associated with the facility. Belltown South, Chinatown/ID, Stadium, and Uptown Edge (Northeast) each have one facility with such carpool and/or vanpool spaces. There are two facilities in South Lake Union with such vanpool spaces.

6. Findings

The following summarizes the findings of the 2016 Downtown Off-Street Parking Study. Comparisons between the 2014 and 2016 studies are included. Future studies could help identify if the variations in utilization rates represent trends. Weekday parking utilization in the Commercial Core ranged from 68% to 77% in 2016. Similar

to the 2014 study, the Financial Subarea experienced the highest utilization.

Facilities that were surveyed in both 2014 and 2016 showed an overall 5% decrease in parking occupancy over the two-year period. Outside of the Commercial Core Area, two subareas experienced increased occupancy: Belltown North (+7.5%) and Pioneer Square Core Subarea (+15.5%).

In both 2014 and 2016, weekend and evening utilization was much lower than the weekday utilization for all areas. In 2016, peak weekend utilization occurred along the Waterfront, which was 67% utilized. The second highest utilization on a weekend afternoon, 63%, occurred in the Chinatown/ID Edge Subarea. All other areas had weekend utilization rates of 50% or below.

In both 2014 and 2016, the cost to park in the Commercial Core, both for the short-term (2 hours) and all-day, was highest in the Financial Subarea. In 2016, the 2- and 4-hour rates increased between $0.50 and $1.75 on average in the Commercial Core. The lowest rate increases were in the Retail Subarea, and the highest rate increases were in the Waterfront Subarea. Outside the Commercial Core, the 2-hour and 4-hour rates generally increased between $0.50 and $2.00 in all subareas.

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